#MEXICAN CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA DRIVER#

It comes from the Nahuatl word “tamalli,” which means wrapped. A single offering of the dish is called a tamal in Spanish. Tamales of different styles are displayed on a table during the tamales fair at the Ixtapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City, Friday, Jan.Some vendors also known to slowly pedal big tricycles down streets offering tamales, which can also be wrapped in banana leaves or other foliage. Vendors wait for clients before the opening of the tamales fair in the Ixtapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City, Friday, Jan.

From north to south, hundreds of savory and sweet tamal varieties proliferate in Mexico.

A shrimp tamal is displayed during the tamales fair in the Ixtapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City, Friday, Jan.

It is widely considered a national dish of Mexico. Chiles en nogada is a Mexican dish of poblano chiles stuffed with picadillo topped with a walnut-based cream sauce called nogada, pomegranate seeds and parsley, and it is typically served at room temperature.

A Chiles en Nogada style tamal is displayed during the tamales fair at the Ixtapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City, Friday, Jan.

The tradition comes from a time when farmers would bring their ears of corn to the church for a priest to bless the kernels set aside for planting the next crop.įrom north to south, hundreds of savory and sweet tamal varieties proliferate in Mexico. He has identified 25 families of tamales in Mexico, which themselves have innumerable variants based on ingredients, wrappings and size. Tamales are eaten in countries throughout the region under other names like “humita,” “pamonhas,” “hallaca” and “guanime.” But the sheer variety achieved in Mexico is unmatched, said chef and gastronomy researcher Ricardo Muñoz Zurita. Vendors set up stands across the city before dawn at subway stops and street corners where tamales steam in giant pots fired by gas burners or charcoal.

A youth who plays guitar in a rock band eats a pink tamal before his show at a street tamales shop in downtown Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. They have persisted for centuries, spinning off an array of varieties and adjusting to ingredients like the pork and lard brought by Spanish conquerors.Ī single offering of the dish is called a tamal in Spanish. Tamales date to pre-Hispanic times when Olmecs, Mexicas and Mayas prepared them for religious rituals, and offerings and even placed them in tombs. Other vendors slowly pedal big tricycles down streets offering tamales, which can also be wrapped in banana leaves or other foliage. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Įven outside that holiday, vendors set up stands across the city before dawn at subway stops and street corners where tamales steam in giant pots fired by gas burners or charcoal. The word tamal comes from the Nahuatl word “tamalli,” which means wrapped. A worker classifies corn husks to wrap tamales for the incoming “Dia de la Candelaria” or Candlemas at the Flor de Lis factory in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 6 has to buy tamales for the family on Feb. On that day, Mexican tradition has it that whoever found the baby Jesus figurine in the Rosca de Reyes cake eaten on Three Kings Day on Jan. They also invariably carry nostalgia for millions like Cuatencos, who remembers his grandmother preparing tamales for family celebrations and religious festivals like Candlemas Day on Feb. “The flavor, the dough, all of that is really good,” a smiling Cuatencos said recently.īut tamales are not only a delicious and a high-caloric way to fuel the work day.

#MEXICAN CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA DRIVER#

MEXICO CITY (AP) - At least three times a week, Mexico City bus driver Nicolás Cuatencos stops by a stand selling tamales to pick up a “ guajolota,” or “turkey.” It’s a corn husk-wrapped corn dough and salsa delicacy slid into a crusty bun, and it’s been his weakness since childhood.

Mexican childhood nostalgia